


Shore Leave

by stolen_pen_name23



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Crash Landing, Drowning, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Hurt/Comfort, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Minor Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Protective Anakin Skywalker, Sickfic, Whump, Worried Anakin Skywalker
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stolen_pen_name23/pseuds/stolen_pen_name23
Summary: After a mission to free the ocean planet of Glee Anselm from Separatist control, Obi-Wan, Anakin, Ahsoka and the clones under their command will be given shore leave. What happens when an incident from the mission starts to catch up with Obi-Wan?
Relationships: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 34
Kudos: 231





	1. Ocean Blue

There were several things Obi-Wan Kenobi would never understand about his former padawan, now Jedi Knight, Anakin Skywalker. His adoration for all things mechanical, especially if that mechanical thing could fly, was one of those things Obi-Wan would never quite be able to wrap his head around.

Obi-Wan always preferred to have two feet on solid ground. He did not much care for the volatility of flying.

Just because he didn’t  _ care  _ for flying didn’t mean he was bad at it. On the contrary, Obi-Wan Kenobi was an excellent pilot. With his quick reflexes and strong instincts gifted to him by his Force sensitivity, Obi-Wan could outmaneuver just about anyone in the galaxy (Anakin excluded) when he was piloting any kind of spacecraft. 

Unfortunately for Obi-Wan, General Grievous was well aware of both Obi-Wan’s and Anakin’s prowess behind the yoke of an aircraft. General Grievous also knew that the Separatists were losing this particular battle. 

The Separatists had been blockading the oceanic planet of Glee Anselm, preventing Republic citizens from going in or out of the planet. They were positioned threateningly inside of the planet’s atmosphere, so citizens of the planet could always see their presence. 

Obviously, this could not stand. 

The Republic sent out the 501st and 212th squadrons, led by Generals Skywalker and Kenobi respectively, to dismantle the blockade and free Glee Anselm’s citizens. Their star destroyers, the  _ Resolute  _ and the  _ Negotiator  _ were still stationed outside of the planet’s atmosphere 

The battle was going relatively smoothly and rather quickly. While this could likely be attributed to the combined skill sets of Anakin and Obi-Wan’s commands or to the talent of their clone troopers, both squadrons knew that once this battle was won, they would both be given three weeks of shore leave on Coruscant. The clones seemed to be more eager than usual to take down the Separatist forces. 

Seeing the battle being lost before him, General Grievous decided to give one last show of defiance before making his retreat. He ordered his droid fighters to separate and dogpile the starfighters belonging to General Kenobi and General Skywalker. 

Anakin was grateful he had made Ahsoka stay up in the  _ Resolute.  _ She had not been happy about it, but Anakin promised her that if he needed her help, he would call her in. He was relieved when he still felt her warm presence at the end of their bond. 

He returned his attention back to the battle at hand. Both he and Obi-Wan were being completely swarmed.

“Anakin, I could use some assistance over here,” Obi-Wan said tightly over his commlink.

“Hold on,” Anakin replied. “I’ve got some problems of my own.”

Anakin was making quick work of destroying the droid fighters on his tail, expertly outmaneuvering them at every turn. Anakin noted that his assailants, while they were fast and had a lot of firepower, were not quite as talented at making sudden changes in direction. An idea formed in his mind.

“I hope this works!” Anakin shouted at R2. 

Anakin thrust the controls of his starfighter straight forward and accelerated. The craft hurtled rapidly towards the violent ocean below him in a nosedive. His assailants followed him straight towards the blue waters. At the very last possible second, he pulled up on the yoke with all of his strength. He heard the engines and R2 screeching, but his plan worked. All of the droid fighters that had been on his tail crashed heavily into the churning depths of the ocean below. 

Anakin laughed triumphantly. “See, that wasn’t so bad R2.”

Anakin ignored R2’s whistles of disapproval and started making his way over to Obi-Wan’s position. The Master Jedi didn’t seem to be faring as well as Anakin was. A thick trail of smoke was coming from one of his engines. 

“I’m right behind you Obi-Wan!”

“Oh, I’m so glad you could make it,” the older Jedi shouted back sardonically. 

Obi-wan felt his starfighter straining to maintain its speed. He fired back at the droid fighters, but his targeting systems were offline, making the whole process slower than he would have hoped for in a situation such as this. 

Anakin fired at the droid fighters tailing Obi-Wan. Slowly, he was picking them off one-by-one, but it wasn’t fast enough. The droids completely blew off Obi-Wan’s right wing. His starfighter immediately began to spin out and careen towards the ocean below. 

The few remaining droids, sensing their success, turned their fire on Anakin. He swiftly wiped them all out with a few well aimed flares. He looked on in horror as his former Master plummeted towards the planet’s watery surface. 

Obi-Wan managed to get control of the spinning, but there wasn’t much he could do about the crashing. Sensing his fate if he stayed in the aircraft, Obi-Wan pulled the eject cord. The glass shield around the cockpit flew off without a problem, but Obi-Wan remained seated inside the crashing vehicle.

_ Naturally,  _ Obi-Wan thought to himself in exasperated resignation. He tried in vain to free himself from the restraints, but it was malfunctioning. He took a few deep breaths, releasing his panic into the Force, and prepared himself to land, or rather, crash, in the dark blue waters of Glee Anselm. 

The water was colder than expected. The impact and the cold stunned him, but he quickly regained his senses. He fumbled around for his lightsaber, but as he tried to turn it on, it shorted out. He clipped the now useless weapon back onto his belt and desperately pulled at his bonds. 

It was no use. Obi-wan’s lungs screamed for oxygen, but all he could do was look up to the light of the surface as he fell farther and farther away from it. He thought he saw a dark figure leap into the ocean above him, but it was probably just the dark spots clouding his vision. He closed his eyes and gave in to crushing darkness.

* * *

Anakin once again found himself in a nosedive, barreling towards the churning ocean. He stabilized the aircraft so it was hovering just above the water and he opened up the cockpit’s hatch.

“R2, take over! Go get Ahsoka!” Anakin yelled as he leapt into the churning depths of the ocean below him.

He was surprised by the cold water, but he swam downward as fast as he could. He couldn’t keep up with the sinking starfighter. He used the Force to propel him downward. He caught up with the starfighter and was grateful the glass hatch was gone. He drew his lightsaber and carefully cut through Obi-Wan’s seatbelt. He hooked his arms underneath Obi-Wan’s and kicked off from the totaled starfighter. 

His lungs felt like they were on fire by the time he reached the surface. He gasped for breath but regretted it as a wave crashed into his face. He kicked up, trying to keep his head above water, but it was becoming increasingly difficult with Obi-Wan dragging him down and the waves crashing over his head. He coughed and sputtered as he looked around wildly. 

Glee Anselm was an ocean planet, but it was not without its pockets of land. Anakin thanked the Force as his eyes landed on a small sandbar three dozen yards away. With more desperation than he cared for, he pulled Obi-Wan alongside him as he swam to it. As he approached the sandbar he dragged Obi-Wan onto it and collapsed next to him in exhaustion. He quickly got on his knees and began examining his former Master.

He wasn’t breathing.

_ Obi-Wan!  _ Anakin screamed through the bond they still shared. He didn’t get a response.

He quickly put his hands together and began compressing his chest. 

_ Come on! Wake up! _

Anakin pressed harder. He felt some of Obi-Wan’s ribs crack under his hands but he didn’t care. He pressed on. 

_ Obi-Wan, please.  _ Tears burned in his eyes.

Just as Anakin was beginning to lose hope, Obi-Wan’s stormy blue eyes opened and he coughed violently. Anakin rolled him on to his side as he threw up all of the ocean water he had swallowed. He continued to cough weakly for some time before laying back down in the sand, panting heavily.

“Well, that was unpleasant,” Obi-Wan finally said after a few deep and agonizing breaths. 

Relief washed over Anakin. 

_ Don’t do that! _

_ Do what? Get attacked by droid fighters, crash my malfunctioning ship into the ocean and drown? Next time I’ll tell Grievous to kindly avoid siccing his attack dogs on us. I’m sure he’d be very open to my suggestions.  _

Anakin rolled his eyes. 

“You  _ could  _ have shaken them off your tail. You should have done a nosedive like me! Those stupid droids couldn’t turn nearly as fast as our fighters could.”   
  
“Well forgive me for not being as  _ cunning _ as  _ The Chosen One _ ,” Obi-Wan said dryly, but a smile reached his eyes. He propped himself up on his elbows. Anakin just scoffed and rolled his eyes again, relieved that his best friend seemed to be  _ relatively _ unscathed by the whole situation. 

Obi-Wan coughed again. Pain lanced through his chest as the coughing pulled on his cracked ribs. He wrapped his arms around his chest and grimaced. He was grateful they weren’t broken, but they still hurt, especially since he was still coughing pretty frequently. Luckily, he didn’t sense any other injuries on his person. 

Anakin looked at him with concern.

_ Are you alright? _

_ Yes, Anakin, I’m fine. Thanks in no part to your gentle touch. _

_ Hey, without my gentle touch you would be one with the Force right now. How many is that now? Seven to five?  _

_ It’s six to five and you know it. _

_ Whatever you say, Master. _

Anakin hadn’t gotten out of the habit of calling Obi-Wan Master and he didn’t think he ever would. Not that it mattered too much. Obi-Wan had recently been made a Master by the Jedi Council. He was the youngest member, but he had certainly earned his place. Being the mentor to The Chosen One and the only Jedi in a thousand years to kill a Sith and live to tell the tale ensured he would receive a spot on the council. 

Being a Jedi Master wouldn’t protect him from the cold though. He shivered slightly, his wet robes and near-death experience made it a little difficult to warm up. He noticed Anakin was shaking too. 

_ I don’t suppose you called for back up before you drowned your commlink, did you? _

_ I sent R2 to get Ahsoka. _

_ Lovely. Let’s hope Ahsoka gets the message. _

_ Have a little faith, Master! R2 has never let us down before. _

While there was truth behind Anakin’s words, Obi-Wan still had a hard time trusting droids. 

At the thought, Obi-Wan remembered his lightsaber. He reached for the weapon still attached to his belt. He tried to ignite it, but it just buzzed a little before sputtering out entirely. He examined his waterlogged lightsaber dejectedly. 

“I’ll fix it, Obi-Wan,” Anakin said, noticing his friend’s slight distress at the broken weapon. “I’ll make it waterproof like mine.”

“Thank you, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said sincerely. While he didn’t understand Anakin’s penchant for all things mechanical, he certainly was grateful for it. A Jedi’s lightsaber is their life, and Obi-Wan felt vulnerable without his. He reattached it to his belt and lay back down on the soft sand. 

He looked up at the triumphant scene above them. The Separatists had retreated and the clones were taking out the remaining stragglers. His eyes fixed on a shuttle that was making its way towards them. 

With grace, Ahsoka leapt from the side of the shuttle and landed next to him and Obi-Wan. 

“About time you showed up,” Anakin teased, trying to hide the chattering of his teeth.

“Well if  _ someone _ didn’t keep me trapped inside the  _ Resolute  _ I would have been here a lot sooner.”

Ahsoka studied Anakin and Obi-Wan. They were both soaking wet. Their hair stuck to their foreheads and was darkened from the water. Anakin looked completely unharmed, if not a little chilled. Obi-Wan seemed okay except for the way he had an arm wrapped protectively around his chest. He looked cold and exhausted. 

“What happened anyway?” Ahsoka said, trying not to let concern for her Master and Grandmaster color her voice. 

“Obi-Wan hates flying so much he decided to go swimming instead,” Anakin said. His tone was joking, but Obi-Wan could sense his distress at the situation in the Force. “He crash-landed in the ocean, but his seatbelt malfunctioned. Luckily I was here to once again save his life.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

“Can we just get back on the ship so we can go home?” Obi-Wan said in a tone that sounded uncharacteristically like a whine. 

“Yes, I think the clones are eager to kick off their three-week vacation,” Ahsoka said.

“They’re not the only ones,” Anakin said with a wry smile. 

The trio clambered into the shuttle and made their way to the  _ Resolute.  _


	2. Debrief

Once on board the  _ Resolute,  _ Anakin and Ahsoka leapt off of the shuttle and landed gracefully onto the hangar floor. Obi-Wan lagged behind.

“What are you doing, Master?” Anakin asked.

“I’m going back to the  _ Negotiator.  _ I need to return to my men.”

“Cody can handle your men. You need to get into some dry clothes and get checked out by a healer.”

“Anakin, I’m fine. I’ll get some dry clothes from my ship.”

“All we’re doing is going back to Coruscant. Cody is more than capable of handling that on his own, don’t you think? Just borrow some of my clothes. We’ll head to Coruscant together.”

Obi-Wan was about to protest again, but another set of chills racked his body. “Fine. I’ll stay on the  _ Resolute, _ ” he said in resignation. 

“Ahsoka, go find Rex and get a report from him on how the battle went. We’ll catch up with you later.”

“You got it Skyguy.”

Ahsoka smiled at the wave of affection coming from Anakin’s side of their bond as she headed towards the bridge. 

Obi-Wan leapt down from the shuttle and landed next to Anakin. His landing wasn’t quite as graceful as Anakin’s, but he regained his footing quickly. 

“Are you alright?” Anakin asked him again.

“Of course.” Obi-Wan’s voice was steady, so Anakin let it go. 

They walked side-by-side in comfortable silence to Anakin’s quarters where they were finally able to change into dry clothes. 

“You really should get checked out by a healer.” 

“Anakin, I’m fine. My only remotely serious injury is a few cracked ribs, which, if you recall, you gave to me. Not much the healers can do about those. They’ll heal on their own soon enough.”

“Obi-Wan, you  _ drowned.  _ I thought you were  _ dead. _ ” The distress in his tone made Obi-Wan pause. The ordeal had affected Anakin more than he had initially thought. 

_ It’s okay, Anakin. I survived,  _ because _ of you. And I got away pretty unscathed, let’s just be grateful for that and move on. _

_ Master, are you sure? _

_ Yes, my former Padawan. I’m okay.  _

Obi-Wan flashed a reassuring smile and Anakin seemed to relax.

_ Fine. But if I notice something off about you I’m going to drag you to the healer’s myself. _

_ I’d expect nothing less.  _

The two smirked at each other and made their way to the bridge. Rex and Ahsoka debriefed them on the outcome of the battle. There had been minimal casualties, which put Anakin in a lighter mood. 

“About time something went right for us,” Anakin said.

“Can’t argue with that sir,” Rex said dutifully. “We’ll arrive at Coruscant within an hour.”

“Excellent. Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and I need to debrief the Jedi Council. You’re dismissed.”

“Thank you sir,” Rex nodded as he turned and left the bridge. 

The trio stood before the blue glowing forms of the members of the Jedi Council. 

“Good evening, Council members,” Obi-Wan greeted cordially.

“Hello, Master Kenobi. Good to see you three unharmed, it is,” Yoda returned good-naturedly. “Report on the battle, you may.”

“The battle was a success, Master Yoda. Glee Anselm is once again free of Separatist rule. There were minimal casualties and we managed to win the battle quickly, with only minor incident.”

“An incident, there was, Master Kenobi?”

Obi-Wan hesitated.

“Obi-Wan's starfighter crashed,” Anakin interjected. 

“Unharmed you are, Master Kenobi?”

“Yes, and it is only due to Anakin’s quick action that I am able to stand before you now.”

Anakin’s cheeks flushed. He looked down at his boots, but he couldn’t help but feel a small swell of pride at his former Master’s praise, especially since it was in front of the Jedi Council.

“Very good, Knight Skywalker,” Plo Koon chimed in. 

“Thank you, Masters,” Anakin said graciously. 

“Return to Coruscant soon, the three of you will,” Yoda said. “Enjoy your shore leave, you must.” 

“Of course, Master,” Obi-Wan said, nodding his head in respect. Anakin and Ahsoka followed his lead and the blue light of the Jedi Council flickered out. 

“Well that was the most successful conversation I’ve ever had with them,” Anakin said. 

“Keep it up, and you’ll be a Master soon,” Obi-Wan said to him, grinning. 

_ Thank you, Master. _

_ Of course, Anakin.  _

* * *

Anakin, Obi-Wan and Ahsoka sat together, conversing quietly while they awaited their arrival in Coruscant. 

Obi-Wan was mostly quiet while Anakin and Ahsoka bantered with each other. Exhaustion was creeping up on him and his whole body was sore from the crash landing. He coughed into his arm and tried to ignore the sharp ache in his chest. 

It took a moment for him to realize Anakin and Ahsoka had stopped bickering and were now staring intently at him. 

_ Master? _

“I’m fine Anakin.”

Anakin didn’t look convinced, but before he could say anything, a voice over the loudspeaker alerted all passengers of the  _ Resolute  _ that they were now in Coruscanti air space and would be landing shortly. 

_ Saved by the bell. _

_ Lucky me. _

Once inside the Jedi Temple, the three went their separate ways. Anakin told Obi-Wan and Ahsoka he was going to work on upgrading the speeder he kept for his personal use around Coruscant. Of course, what Anakin's real intentions involved sneaking off to spend the night with Padme. Ahsoka went to go spar with some of the other padawans in her age group. Obi-Wan returned to his apartment where he now lived alone. 

He had lived in this apartment for a very long time, ever since he became Qui-Gon’s padawan, but he had never lived in it alone. He quite enjoyed the isolation. Sure, it was quieter without Anakin’s volatile Force presence, but Obi-Wan enjoyed having space for himself for the first time in his life. His time alone in his apartment was even more cherished now because his duties as a General of the Clone Wars so often demanded he be out in space, going from mission to mission, surrounded by dozens of people at a time. 

As he entered his long-abandoned apartment, he felt the exhaustion that had been building throughout the day hit him with full force. He didn’t bother with clearing the dust from the surfaces or even to brew a pot of tea. He heavily dropped his small bag near the front door and made a beeline for the fresher. He shucked off his borrowed clothing and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water run down his sore, battle-worn body. He felt himself starting to nod off, but he shook himself awake, finding it best not to fall over in the shower and add even more hurts to his already aching body. He washed the remainder of the salt and sand out of his hair and turned off the water. 

He gingerly ran a towel over his body, wincing as he ran it over his chest. He examined his chest in the mirror. There was a deep purple bruise shaped vaguely like Anakin’s hand right over his heart. His thoughts drifted to just how close to death he had come today. He tried not to let the thought affect him, but he couldn’t help the sharp pang of fear he felt at the potential of dying in a starfighter crash of all things. He suddenly felt very alone in his small apartment, despite his initial enjoyment of the solitude.

He decided he would make a point to meditate on this later. For now, he pulled on some sleep clothes and settled into his long-abandoned bed. Sleep claimed the exhausted Jedi Master immediately. 

* * *

Though he didn’t think it was possible, Obi-Wan woke up feeling somehow more exhausted than he felt the night before. A deep groan escaped his lips, but it turned into a dry cough. Pain lanced through his chest, both from the cracked ribs and a sudden heaviness in his lungs. 

He shook it off. 

He climbed out of bed and made his way to his kitchen where he started brewing a pot of tea. While he waited for the water to heat up, Obi-Wan took a damp towel to the dusty surfaces throughout the apartment. The kicked up dust got in his face and he coughed some more. He curled an arm protectively around his chest and stifled another pain-filled groan. While it wasn’t up to his usual standards, Obi-Wan decided the apartment was clean enough. 

He slowly sipped on his tea, savoring the familiar taste of home and peace he associated with this particular brew. It made him feel marginally better and significantly more alert than he had been when he initially woke up. 

After rinsing out his empty mug, he made his way to his favorite place in the whole temple - the hall of a thousand fountains. The garden had always made him feel calm and serene ever since he was a youngling. He came here after disputes with Qui-Gon or when he felt frustrated by Anakin’s rebellious tendencies as his padawan. He always felt most connected to the Force here and he could spend hours in deep meditation here.

Of course, Anakin _ also _ knew that Obi-Wan adored this place. So when Anakin didn’t find Obi-Wan in his quarters, this was the first place he checked. 

Anakin found Obi-Wan sitting cross-legged in the grass underneath the shade of a tall willow tree. His eyes were closed and he looked more at peace than Anakin had seen him in a long time. Seeing the look of serenity on his former Master’s face, he almost turned around to leave.

_ We’ve been on shore leave for less than a day Anakin, how are you already restless? _

Too late. 

Obi-Wan had always been able to read Anakin better than just about anyone, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise that Obi-Wan sensed his presence as well as his mood.

“Sorry, Master,” Anakin said. He at least had the decency to look a little sheepish. 

“It’s alright Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, opening his eyes. He blinked at the sunlight streaming through the gardens. He had been here longer than he initially thought. “Any luck upgrading that speeder of yours?”

“What? Oh, yeah! Yeah no, I need to get a few spare parts I’m missing.”

“Hmm, tough luck,” Obi-Wan said with a smirk. He really wished Anakin would just be honest with him about his attachment to Padme, but for now, he would settle for just flustering his former padawan. 

“Yeah definitely,” Anakin said, recovering. 

“So, what brings you out here? I know it’s not to meditate.”

“Hey, you don’t know that! I could be trying to grow as a Jedi, find my center now that we have some time to relax!”

“No, you’re not.”

“No, I’m not, but that’s not the point,” Anakin replied. “I came out here looking for a sparring partner.”

“You could spar with your padawan you know.”

“She’s getting caught up on classes,” Anakin said dejectedly. “Besides, I’m looking for a challenge.” 

Obi-Wan grinned despite himself. 

“Well, then how could I refuse?” 

Anakin stuck his hand out and Obi-Wan gratefully took it as Anakin pulled him to his feet. He shook off his residual weariness and followed Anakin to the training dojo. 


	3. Duel

Dripping in sweat, Obi-Wan and Anakin expertly struck and parried against each other with their training sabers. They had been dueling for about two hours.

As two of the best swordsmen in the order, Anakin and Obi-Wan were both pretty evenly met. When Anakin was still a padawan, Obi-Wan generally won all of their duels, but now Anakin was able to best him about half of the time. 

This was looking to be one of those times.

Usually, the pair could spar for hours before exhaustion hit them. Their connection to the Force ensured they had a good amount of stamina backing them up. However, Obi-Wan was beginning to tire and his moves had become significantly less complicated and a degree slower than they usually were after only two hours of fighting against Anakin. 

Even still, Anakin had been going a little easy on Obi-Wan. He knew his ribs needed to heal so he made Obi-Wan agree to avoid any moves that would cause a strain on them. Obi-Wan begrudgingly agreed. So they fought in a style that required more technicality from their hand and footwork than from their whole bodies. In one blindingly fast move, Anakin knocked the training saber out of Obi-Wan’s hand. He pressed the edge of his saber to Obi-Wan’s neck. 

“Impressive,” Obi-Wan said, throwing his hands up in surrender. 

“It would have been more impressive if you had actually been putting up a fight,” Anakin said brashly, but an edge of concern was buried in his tone. “Are you alright, Master?”

“Anakin you must stop asking me this. Yes, I am alright. Just a little tired. We  _ did _ take down a Separatist blockade just yesterday if you’ll recall.”

“I also recall you nearly dying yesterday. How are you feeling? Are your ribs healing?”

“They’re on the mend.”

Anakin looked at him suspiciously. “Fine. Let’s freshen up and meet back at the mess. I’m starving.”

Obi-Wan nodded his agreement and the two parted. He slowly made his way back to his apartment, trying to fight off a headache forming behind his eyes. In truth, he was feeling rather run-down, but he knew he would be healed up in a matter of days. The last thing he wanted to do was get trapped in the halls of healing, so he ignored the ache of his ribs and the heaviness in his lungs.

He showered quickly and changed into a clean tunic. He reached for his lightsaber before remembering it was broken and of no use to him anyway. He shoved it in the drawer of his bedside table and headed back to the mess hall.

Anakin was already there and he was sitting side-by-side with Ahsoka. The two appeared to be bickering. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. 

Anakin paused the little argument he was having with his padawan and pushed a plate of food towards Obi-Wan. “I got you this.”

“Thank you.”

Anakin quickly returned his attention back to the conversation he was having with Ahsoka, which Obi-Wan was grateful for. He ate a few bites of fruit but mostly pushed the food around on his plate to make it look like he ate something. He wasn’t feeling all that hungry, despite the rigorous training he just went through with Anakin. Luckily, Anakin didn’t seem to notice.

“Obi-Wan, can you tell my padawan that it’s important for her to get caught up on classes and not just on lightsaber training, which she already gets plenty of in the field?”

“It’s _because_ I have to use my lightsaber training in the field that I should practice it more while I have free time!” Ahsoka replied indignantly.

A half-smile quirked Obi-Wan’s lips. “Oh my friend, I do believe this is what they call payback.”

Anakin rolled his eyes. “Come on Master, give us one of those speeches about the importance of a well-rounded education. You have so many of them!”

“Fine,” Obi-Wan said, shooting Anakin a glare. “Ahsoka, it’s very important for young padawans to learn how to properly wield their lightsabers, but it’s just as important for them to learn about philosophy, science and politics. This war won’t last forever and when it’s over, the Jedi will be needed in full force to ensure peace throughout the galaxy.”

“Yes, Master,” Ahsoka sighed in resignation, unable to argue with Master Kenobi in the same way she could with Anakin. 

“See, was that so hard?” Anakin questioned.

“Like riding a speeder bike.”

“Hey Snips, I’ll cut you a deal,” Anakin said, his voice taking on a cocky tone that Obi-Wan had long ago learned to dread. “Attend all of your classes tomorrow and then afterward you can come spar with me and Obi-Wan. We’ll show you how it’s done, right Obi-Wan?”

“I suppose I do need a rematch.”

“You’re on!”

Ahsoka’s face lit up. She loved watching her Master and Grandmaster spar and she loved getting the chance to learn from both of them. 

The three of them sat together for a little while longer. Anakin and Ahsoka continued bantering while Obi-Wan tried not to let his exhausted mind wander. After a little while, they parted ways and returned to their respective apartments. 

That night, Obi-Wan lay restless in his bed. He was exhausted, but he was kept awake by continuous coughing fits and the headache that had only gotten worse throughout the day. His ribs  _ hurt _ . It felt like a bantha was sitting atop his lungs and he was starting to feel rather chilled as well. Most of the blankets he owned were piled on top of him, but he still felt cold at his core. He was able to catch a few minutes of sleep here and there, but he spent most of the night miserable and feeling very alone.

* * *

Anakin sauntered into the training dojo with his padawan at his side. They were engrossed in conversation, that for once, didn’t seem to be an argument. 

Obi-Wan was already waiting for them in the dojo. He felt worse than he had yesterday, but he did a pretty good job of hiding it. 

“Alright Snips, watch and learn.”

Ahsoka rolled her eyes but starred giddily as Anakin and Obi-Wan got into their opening stances. The two collided, their training sabers striking each other in a blur of practiced motion. 

Obi-Wan started off strong. He was diverting all excess strength and energy he had into the task in front of him but it was waning much faster than it had yesterday. 

“Is that the best you can do, Master?” Anakin taunted, not quite yet catching on that something was amiss.

Obi-Wan didn’t reply. Instead, he strengthened his resolve and struck at Anakin harder and faster, but he couldn’t keep it up. His movements became slower and simpler as his energy faded. He breathed heavily, never feeling like he could quite get enough air in his lungs. Black spots started to form around his vision, but he tried to shake it off. 

In one swift motion, Anakin performed a move that Obi-Wan had taught him when he was still quite young. It was a simple, but effective move that was designed to catch the opponent off balance. It  _ never  _ worked on Obi-Wan. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan found himself on the ground, his feet knocked out from under him. 

Anakin, prepared for Obi-Wan to jump right back up and come at him with a vengeance, was caught off-guard when he remained lying on his back on the ground.

“Obi-Wan?”

His former master curled into himself and began coughing viscously. Anakin was instantly at his side. Ahsoka also got up and ran towards them, but put a little distance between herself and the pair to give them some space. 

“Master? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to… Obi-Wan, what’s wrong?” Anakin cried out frantically. He placed a hand on Obi-Wan’s forehead. “He’s burning up.”

Obi-Wan’s coughing turned into labored wheezing. It sounded like there was a rattle in his chest. 

“Ahsoka, go to the healers. Tell them I’m on my way with Obi-Wan and that he’s very ill. Hurry!”

“Yes, Master,” Ahsoka nodded dutifully before taking off in a run towards the halls. 

Anakin returned his attention to his fallen Master. He looked so pale.  _ How did I not notice this? _

Obi-Wan curled an arm protectively around his ribs. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain.

“Obi-Wan, please, what’s wrong? What happened?”

His only reply was more labored breathing. Anakin swallowed thickly. 

“Alright, I’m going to help you up alright? Come on.” Anakin pulled Obi-Wan to his feet. He swayed a little before Anakin hooked Obi-Wan’s arm over his shoulder. Slowly, they staggered towards the halls of healing. As they hobbled along, Obi-Wan’s breathing became more and more ragged and he suddenly slumped completely against Anakin’s side as he passed out. Anakin’s knees buckled at the added dead weight, but he quickly regained his footing. He carefully scooped Obi-Wan into his arms and continued on the path towards the halls. 

Relief coursed through Anakin’s veins as he entered the halls of healing. Vokara Che and her small team of healers were waiting for him in the front with a stretcher at the ready. Anakin gently lay Obi-Wan down. He barely registered that Ahsoka was standing off to the side, looking very concerned.

“He just passed out on the way over here. I… I don’t know what happened… I thought…” Anakin stumbled over his words breathlessly. 

“Easy there Skywalker. Slow down. Your padawan gave us the rundown of what happened, but can you give us more context as to what happened on Glee Anselm?”

“Uh yeah,” Anakin said, trying to steady his breathing. “His ship, it crashed into the ocean. He was trapped inside it. I went after him and pulled him to a sandbar. He… he wasn’t breathing. I thought he was dead. I started doing chest compressions and I cracked a few of his ribs, but it was an accident, I didn’t mean to… Anyway, he coughed up the water he swallowed and I thought he was fine… he told me he was fine. We came back to Coruscant for shore leave and I sparred with him yesterday and he seemed a little sluggish but I thought he was just tired. What’s… what’s wrong with him? Is he going to be alright?”

“I have my suspicions, but I’m going to have to perform a full medical evaluation before I can confirm what’s going on. Thank you for providing that background information, it’s very helpful.”

Anakin nodded.

The healers had begun pulling off Obi-Wan’s tunic so as to get a better look at his chest. Anakin gasped when he saw the massive, purple bruise in the exact spot he had performed chest compressions on him just two days before. 

“Did… did I? I didn’t mean to do that. I didn’t know…”

“It’s alright Anakin, you did the right thing by performing chest compressions. He probably wouldn’t have lived if you hadn’t.”

He swallowed thickly. He thought back to that awful moment on the sandbar when he thought Obi-Wan was dead. He had  _ felt  _ his ribs cracking underneath the force of his hands but he had kept going, his fear making him press ever harder against his chest... Maybe too hard. 

“I… I should have been more careful, I should have been more gentle… I should...” 

“That’s enough Knight Skywalker. You did everything right. Now please, go out to the waiting area, I’ll report back to you when I have a proper assessment of his state of being.”

“But…”

“Now, Knight Skywalker.”

“Come on,” the gentle voice of his padawan said as she softly grabbed him by the arm and began dragging him towards the waiting area. He followed her in somewhat of a daze. 

Anakin and Ahsoka sat together in the small waiting area. Ahsoka felt worry for her Grandmaster, but it was nothing in comparison to the dark cloud of guilt and fear hovering over Anakin’s side of the bond. 

She wanted to say something, anything, to ease his anxieties, but all she could think to say was, “he’ll be alright Master. Obi-Wan is strong.”

His eyes were stormy with emotion. 

“You didn’t see him Ahsoka… You didn’t see him lying lifeless on that sandbar. I don’t know what I would… I  _ need  _ him Ahsoka. He’s my Master.”

Empathy coursed through Ahsoka’s side of the bond. She would feel just as terrible as he did if she was in his position and he was in Obi-Wan’s. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it tightly.

“He’ll be alright,” she reaffirmed. 

Anakin sent a feeling of gratitude through his side of the bond. 

About an hour passed before Vokara Che came out into the waiting room. Anakin was instantly on his feet.

“Calm yourself, Skywalker. Your Master will be fine as long as he remains here for as long as I recommend.”

Relief coursed through Anakin’s veins. “What’s wrong with him?”

“Obi-Wan has a pretty bad case of pneumonia which seemed to come on very quickly. I believe it is due to the water that was in his lungs when he drowned on Glee Anselm. Pneumonia, if left untreated, can be very dangerous, but I believe we have caught it in time and we’ve begun treatment. We’ll monitor his progress over the next couple of days. As for his ribs, it looks like the bottom three were initially cracked, but the bottom two were aggravated and have broken. These will simply take time to heal, though it likely won’t be until after he recovers from the pneumonia.”

“Thank you, Master Che,” Anakin said gratefully. “Can we see him now?”

“We’ve sedated him pretty heavily to aid with the healing process. He likely won’t be conscious for the next 12 to 24 hours. I don’t want anyone bothering him just yet. I recommend you two go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow,” Master Che said. “We will take good care of him, if anything changes you will be the first to know,” she added after Anakin flashed her his anxious gray eyes. 

“Come, Master,” Ahsoka said quietly. “We should go.”

A small flicker of anger coursed through his veins before he sighed in resignation. “Alright. But alert me if he wakes up or if he gets worse.”   
  


“Of course, Knight Skywalker.”

Anakin sighed again and exited the halls of healing with his padawan.

* * *

Anakin stared at the ceiling as he lay restlessly in bed. Logically, Anakin knew that Obi-Wan would likely be okay, that he would bounce back to his normal self and they could get back to bantering and sparring with each other, but his anxieties were clouding his judgment. His mind kept circling back to the moment of terror on the sandbar and to the scene just a few hours ago in the training dojo. 

Anakin had always had a hard time sitting still, especially when his best friend was lying unconscious in the healer's ward. That’s why Anakin threw off his blankets and left his room. He stalked quietly through the apartment so as not to awake Ahsoka, who he could sense was sleeping lightly in her own room. 

Once outside his apartment, he padded quietly through the halls of the Jedi temple until he arrived at the apartment he had spent so much time in before he became a knight – before the war. He entered the key code he knew by heart and entered Obi-Wan’s apartment. He searched through a few drawers and cabinets before he finally found what he was looking for. And then, Anakin got to work. 


	4. Epilogue

Once again, Obi-Wan felt as though he were underwater, though this time felt warmer and calmer. He felt a warm presence nearby and he swam towards it. The presence was familiar.

_ Anakin? _

_ Master?!  _

He winced as the thought directed at him reverberated loudly through Obi-Wan’s mind. 

_ There’s no need to yell.  _

He felt Anakin’s essence in his mind warm even more. He reached towards it and used it to pull himself back to consciousness.

Eyes fluttering open, Obi-Wan squinted at the bright lights of the healer’s room. As his vision cleared, he focused his blue eyes on Anakin’s troubled gray ones. 

_ Anakin? What happened? _

_ You lied to me, that’s what happened. _

Anger and fear bubbled in equal measure on Anakin’s side of their bond. 

“I would never lie to you Anakin,” Obi-Wan said out loud. He gingerly pushed himself up and coughed softly. Instantly, Anakin was pushing a glass of water to Obi-Wan’s lips, which he accepted gratefully. “Now, would you mind clearing up how we got here?”

Anakin pushed down his anger. “We were sparring and you collapsed. You were having trouble breathing and on our way to the halls of healing you passed out. You have pneumonia.”

“Is that all?”

“Two broken ribs and one cracked one.”

  
  
“That makes sense.” 

“Does it hurt?”

“Well, it doesn’t feel great, though it’s better than it was.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Anakin said, his voice growing softer.

“I thought I was fine. I assumed whatever I felt was leftover from the battle and would pass within a few days.”

“Master, you need to take better care of yourself,” Anakin’s eyes were pleading. 

Guilt simmered on Obi-Wan’s side of their bond. 

“I’m sorry Anakin. I never meant to put you through all of this.”

“It’s not about that, Obi-Wan,” Anakin looked near tears. “I need you. You’re my brother.”

“As you are mine, Anakin.” 

Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably. His whole body hurt. He lay back, exhaustion quickly taking hold of him once more, but he kept his eyes on Anakin.

Suddenly, Anakin’s Force presence lit up with excitement.

_ What is it, Anakin? _

_ I almost forgot! I got you something. _

Anakin dug into the deep inner pockets of his robes and pulled out the hilt of a lightsaber – Obi-Wan’s lightsaber.

“Look!” Anakin exclaimed as he ignited the revered weapon. “Good as new. Better than new actually.” Anakin grabbed the water pitcher sitting on the side table and began pouring it directly on the lightsaber. Steam hissed off of the blade and water rolled down the hilt and onto the floor. The beam remained steady, despite the water rolling down the hilt.

“Anakin!”

“Don’t worry, Master! It’s waterproof now!” Anakin used the Force to will the water back into the pitcher.

“Anakin…” Obi-Wan said quietly. His expression was controlled but Anakin could feel the joy radiating through their bond. Anakin handed him the weapon and he inspected it carefully. “Thank you, Anakin. This is incredible.”

“You’re welcome, Master.” Anakin felt rather pleased with the reaction he received. It had been a simple fix really, but he could tell it meant a lot to Obi-Wan. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes suddenly grew heavy. Sensing his growing exhaustion, Anakin took the saber from his hands and placed it gently on the side table. 

“Rest, Master. You’ll need your strength for our next duel.”

Obi-Wan shot Anakin one last feeling of exasperation through their bond before he drifted off to sleep.


End file.
